Can't beat the heat
by Psychodahlia
Summary: Clearbrook tries to escape the heat and meets up with Skot. The Wolfrider and Go Back have a heart to heart.


Hot. So very hot. Clearbrook ran a hand across her brow and glanced over at her lifemate. Treestump seemed impervious to the heat; he never seemed to wake up in the middle of the day sweating from the heat. Letting out a few uncharacteristic grumbles she'd learned from Strongbow, she kicked the heavy bed furs off and turned over.

She tossed and turned for a little while longer before deciding that sleep wasn't going to come. Rousing herself, she dressed and left the den both to avoid waking Treestump and in search of a cooler place to spend the day.

It was worse outside. Slipping out of her boots, Clearbrook decided the creek would be the best place to cool down.

It had not rained in a while and the grass was brown. Redlance had done his best to keep the trees healthy but even he couldn't draw water up from the ground. The humidity was suffocating and it made her nose itch. She had to be careful about where she walked because pinecones littered the ground.

When Clearbrook finally arrived at the creek she was surprised to find Skot wading in the shallow water. His dark leather shirt and boots lay abandoned on the bank and he seemed rather lost in thought. He was kicking up the water and the drops glistened when the light hit them. When he saw her he smiled.

"So it does come loose."

"Hm?" She dropped her boots next to his. She wasn't upset about having company. She had come to the creek more to cool off than to be alone. Still, she wouldn't have expected the young Go-Back to be here, much less looking so thoughtful.

"Your hair." He gestured to the flowing silver locks that were for once freed from their braided prison. She had left it loose as she was too tired and hot to care and it needed to be washed anyway.

"Can't have it braided all the time." She dipped a toe into the creek. It wasn't cold, but it was refreshing. "I need to leave it loose every now and then. Besides, Treestump's big feet aren't here to step on it."

Skot chuckled. "Pike steps on mine sometimes too." He was quiet for a moment and gazed down into the water. "Krim's always trying to get me to cut it but I don't wanna."

Clearbrook stripped off her moss-green clothes and eased herself into the water. "Why does she want you to cut it?" Skot grumbled something. "What?"

"She says it smells." Skot scowled, kicking violently at the water. "And it gets all tangled too."

Clearbrook felt a twinge of sympathy for the Go-Back. "Have you tried washing it?"

"I wash it!" He seemed rather insulted that she would imply he wasn't clean enough. "I go swimming with the rest of the tribe."

"I meant with berries and animal fats." Clearbrook explained. Skot gave her a blank look.

"You put berries and animal fat in your hair?"

"To clean it, yes." Clearbrook stood up and waded over to the bank. Running her hands through the bushes she tore off some of the leaves and brought them back. "I ask Redlance to grow some of those bushes. Then I mix the leaves with some of the ruby berries and animal fat. I throw in a little water and rub it into my hair. It cleans it."

Skot leaned back. His attention span had reached its limit and he was staring out over the water again. "Do you ever miss it?"

"Miss what?" She waded out into the middle of the creek and splashed some water up her arms.

"Your home." The way he said it was almost mournful.

Clearbrook turned around and took a good look at the Go-Back. He was still leaning against the grassy bank and the corners of his mouth were down turned. His dark brown hair was loose and made him look more like a cub than a full grown warrior.

"You mean Goodtree's Rest?" He nodded. "Sometimes. It was my birthplace and my home. But," She shrugged. "there is little I can do to go back there and it's not the Now. I'm content."

Skot didn't say anything in response and that worried the elder. Normally it took the combined promises of dreamberries and Strongbow's displeasure to quiet the Go-Back. For him to be this quiet was almost eerie.

"It's too hot out here." He suddenly complained. Clearbrook reflected that maybe she should not have questioned her luck. A quiet Go-Back was a rare thing, one she should have treasured. "It's too hot and it's always muggy now and half the time Krim and I can't go hunting so we're bored but then we got that stupid rule: 'in the trees as you please' so we can't even dance and it's always hot!"

Clearbrook nodded, understanding the problem. "It was warm in the Forbidden Grove too though."

Skot drew his knees up to his chest and grumbled. "Yeah, but it wasn't as hot as it is here. We were still close to the Frozen Mountains. And besides, we didn't have to be so poking quiet all the time."

"Skot," Clearbrook started. "you can talk as much as you wish, just not aloud."

"Even if we did send, we still can't dance."

"True." She said slowly. "Not around the Holt. But there is land in the direction of Sun-Goes-Down. There are no humans and you'd be far away enough that you wouldn't endanger the Holt." Skot chewed on a fingernail and contemplated her idea.

"Think Cutter would go for it?"

"I don't think he'd mind as long as you were careful."

The temperature did not let up over the next few days, or even over the next few weeks. Skot presented the idea of a trip to the tribe and it was agreed upon on the condition that safety and sanity would be given thought to. Clearbrook and Treestump went along.

As Pike, Skot, Krim, Kahvi and Venka danced around the burning bonfire, shrieking out war whoops, Treestump and Clearbrook added their howls to the din. This time, it was Treestump who wiped his brow.

It's hot. He sent.

She leaned in to him, her curvy frame melding against his stocky one. That's alright. She inclined her head towards the dancing Go-Backs and Pike. Sometimes…it's good to be hot.

Finite.

Author's notes- Yeah, I dunno what the point of this is either. All I know is that Skot invokes motherly feelings in me and since Clearbrook is among the most motherly of elves…

It all belongs to Wendy and Richard Pini.


End file.
